Back in September I reviewed the pilot episode of FOX's new supernatural drama Sleepy Hollow. I liked it, but had so much else to watch that I decided, since it was only going to be 12 episodes, to stockpile the season on my DVR and watch a full run.
So glad I did!
This is a terrific show, combining elements of horror, action, history and comedy with two great leads who have fantastic chemistry, a terrific supporting cast and wicked cool special effects and story lines.
There are a lot of things in Sleepy Hollow that remind me of other shows: the partnership between Tom Mison's Ichabod Crane and Nicole Beharie's "Leftenant" Abbie Mills is much like The X-Files' Mulder and Scully or, more recently, CBS' Elementary's Holmes and Watson. The latter because of the mixture of personalities: Crane's fish-out-of-water manner (having lived in Revolutionary times, he has been awakened 200 years later into modern day) is similar to Holmes' fish-out-of-water manner - he's just ... eccentric. Plus you've got the physical similarities - tall men paired with shorter women.
There's also a lot of story elements that I've heard of before on Supernatural, including demons, possession, the Four Horsemen, Devil's Traps, etc. Supernatural has covered these and more over nine seasons. Sleepy Hollow has done it in one short season - and really well.
SPOILER!
The show throws you right into the battle to prevent the end of days. Turns out the famed Headless Horseman from the original legend here has been turned into the horseman for Death. The show keeps a lot of factual things from Washington Irving's story - names, relationships, etc - but it has also taken liberties to heighten the drama and suspense for the sake of the show. And there are witches!
Sleepy Hollow also has one of the best season finales I've seen in a long time - and it's only season one! I won't give it away, but it felt like something that would end a third season - it was at that level of OMG/WTF?!? Very exciting. And very glad there will be a second season, with what they left us with!
Then there's Mison. He's quite yummy and perfectly portrays a man who is from another time trapped in a world he doesn't comprehend but has to adjust to (this is where much of the comedy comes in). His voice is like butter and he's quite adept at handling the language/way of speaking that existed in the Revolutionary era. (when he leaves a voice mail, it's versed like he were writing a formal letter).
He and Beharie make a great team. I love the return of John Noble (Fringe) to the small screen and the supporting cast - Orlando Jones, Katia Winter, John Cho, Clancy Brown - bring a lot to the table.
It's no surprise I like Sleepy Hollow. The duo behind it is Alex Kurtzman (L) and Roberto Orci, who have really become faves of mine - and have been for a while without my knowing - having worked on/written for/executive produced show favorites like Hercules the Legendary Journeys, Xena the Warrior Princess and Alias, and more recently Fringe, the new Star Trek movies and CBS' Hawaii Five-0. You go guys!
I highly recommend catching up with Sleepy Hollow before the second season premieres in the fall. It is available now on DVD through Netflix.
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